A Time To Dig | Bryan Woodson

((music playing)) It's great to be in church this morning, isn't it? Spending time with people that you love and that love you back and and maybe you're here for the first time across our campuses today. God's got something for you. No doubt you've already felt his presence speaking to you.

I want to welcome our campuses. Gwynette, I you know, that's kind of where I come from. I I I drove in this morning and Tony out in the parking lot right at the entrance, the main entrance smiled at me and welcomed me and then he said, "What are you doing here?

I said, "I'm lost and I won't I won't come back. I promise, Tony." But I'm from the Gwynette campus. What an honor it is to be there and then this morning to be here and um send our love to Gwynette. ((music playing)) But we want to welcome Brazzleton and our Spartanberg people in Midtown and Alpharetta and Orange County and Metro Re-entry and Hay State Prison and Wentworth Correctional and Hall County Correctional and Philip State Prison and Buford and Hall County Jail.

We're so thankful for our global co congregation, our online campus, and just be aware that our Spartanberg campus uh the the the actual structure is fine. The we had we had a power issue there this morning um as a result of the storm. So, please just keep in uh Pastor Javon and the team there and all of our congregation in Spartanberg.

We send our love to you this morning. Uh we know that God is with you and God has got a word for you today. uh and every day just believing the best for our campuses. Uh can you thank God that he is in the room that he's with us today?

This morning, pastor is uh this weekend pastor's been in Orange County at the divine conference. They had record attendance, record turnout uh for that great uh two-day event and speakers and the presence of God just moved powerfully, powerfully. and pastor is out there this morning preaching at our Orange County campus and so proud so thankful for our pastor.

Uh thankful that the vision that God put in his heart uh is is global and it includes all of us and people around the world. And uh can you one time just thank God for our pastor and for pastor Shereice. Wonderful people. Um, we recently uh we recently had a Haiti food packing event.

It lasted over two days and we packed uh 272,000 meals. That's a lot of food. That's a lot of meals. And we we support our our friends in Haiti uh on a monthly basis. We we we we send a lot of resources there. Um and over 900 volunteers showed up to help make those meals.

Uh and as it relates to the uh hurricane, uh we are our ears are open, our eyes are open, and as we see and hear of need uh you if you know of a church uh and that was hit by the storm, we certainly want to be a part of the the cleanup and the rebuilding and we want to put uh resources to work out there.

Uh you can give here. I encourage you to be a part of the giving through free chapel. You can do that uh with the QR code there or online. And uh and no doubt we will have some victorious reports to come to you soon. Uh God is near the the hurting and there are a lot of hurting people.

Um and we're we're proud to be a part of it. If you have if you have your Bible, open it with me to Genesis chapter 26. Genesis chapter 26. And I'm looking forward to the revival services beginning next week. Uh how many were a part of them last year?

Let me see your hand. Uh I love that when pastor announced it, my my family, my children uh genuinely all thrilled. I mean, we were uh along with you and your family, we were in these altars. We were weeping the same tears you were weeping. We were encountering the same God you were encountering.

We were receiving the the same power of the baptism that you were receiving. And uh I would encourage you all week long, have it in the back of your mind to be praying for those meetings. Uh, and if you're ever walking through this room, even today as you're sitting, uh, throughout the morning, I would encourage you just to pray right where you're at for the person that's going to sit there, unless you leave your purse and hope that you're going to get that seat next week, and it probably won't happen.

Uh, but your your purse will be at the front desk if you leave it. Um, open your Bible with me to Genesis chapter 26. Are you ready to dig a little bit this morning? Um, ready to dig into God's word? Anytime you put yourself into God's word, you read his word, he his word will will read you and his word will will ready you and his word will set you right.

There's something about the word of God. Why why is it such a struggle at times to develop a a regular time with the Lord, a regular time in his word? Why does it seem like every distraction comes against you when you determine that I'm going this year or this week or today I'm going to get in his word?

Because the enemy knows that when we have a collision course with God's word, we are never the same. The word of God doesn't change. The word of God is a rock. But when we run into God's word, the word doesn't change. We change. We bend ourselves around the truth of God's word.

And the enemy doesn't like an educated uh invested believer. Uh, the enemy would rather, if he can't keep you from becoming a Christian, the enemy would much rather just have you kind of hanging around the back um breathing the fumes of what other people are doing. But God wants you engaged, not just a part of this great church, but outside of church, he wants you in a personal way to know him and to be known by him.

And so, as we go to God's word this morning, it's in Genesis chapter 26. And the title of this message, if you're writing notes, is a time to dig. It's a time to dig. It says in Genesis 26:22, it says, "Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and he dug another well."

And the first time I read that, "Abandoning that one, I thought, I've done some construction. I I've was my first job when I was 12 and was a part of building houses and and anytime a post hole had to be dug, the the post hole diggers were in my hands.

It was a miracle every time they found me. If anything needed to be moved, when they would build a house, I think the my builder and the supplier worked together to drop off the lumber as far away from the project as possible just to give Woodson something to do.

You see this forest of wood? I need you, Woodson, to move it over there. and every time without fail. But there's something about work. There's something about it. When you put in hard work, you want it to last. You want it to you want to do your best because you don't want to repeat it.

But here is Isaac, the son of Abraham. And it says, "Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and he dug another well. And this time there was no dispute. So Isaac named the place Rayaboath, which means open space, room to breathe and room to move. For Isaac said, "At last the Lord has created enough space for us to prosper in this land."

Sometimes life is so crowded, it doesn't seem like there's any space to prosper. And know this, God wants you to prosper. God wants you to prosper not just for you but also for God, for your testimony, for the glory of God, but also for those who that will come after you.

Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on. So to catch you up to speed, what's happening here in this moment in scripture is Abraham, Isaac's father, is dead. Isaac is on his own and he's living in a foreign land. It says earlier in Genesis 26 says, "Now there was a famine in the land."

Oh, by the way, there's a famine, too. I I don't know if I mentioned that. Now, there was a famine in the land. And besides the other famine of Abraham's day, this was a new famine. It reminds us that every generation is going to walk through a famine.

It shouldn't scare us. It shouldn't frighten us. It should empower us. We should look backwards through the rearview mirror of scripture and recognize every time a famine came through, God came through. And when you walk through a famine, you don't walk alone. That's why when the disciples asked Jesus, teach us to pray, the answer to that prayer was our father.

It's it's a it's a collective thing. It you're not alone, by the way. You're you're part of a family. Jesus taught the disciples to pray to God individually, our father. So even when we pray the Our Father, we're bringing all of us into the prayer. We're we're we're teaming up together.

Abraham has died, but Isaac's not alone. Isaac was in the land, the foreign land, and God told him in Genesis 26, he said to him, he went to king of the Philistines, AMC, and the Lord appeared to Isaac, and he said, "Do not go down to Egypt. Live in the land where I tell you to stay.

Stay in this land," he said, "for a while, and I will be with you and I will bless you. I'll bless you for you, but also for your descendants. And I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. It's time to dig.

It's time to put our hand to the plow. Pastor, the last few weeks preached a message, a series called Build It. And if you missed those services, you can get them online. But there's there's a theme. There's a thought. And it's like God is speaking to us about not being idle.

There's nothing worse than idle hands. We accomplish nothing with wasting time. God didn't put us on this earth to be here, to take up space, to hope that it all works out. But he put us on this earth to put our hand to the plow, to dig some wells, to build some homes, to be productive with our life.

And Abraham has died, and Isaac is on his own, and he's surrounded by famine, and he's being pushed around by the locals. But Isaac was able through God to find room to breathe. Open space. Have you ever had a moment where where you were short of breath? Maybe you got the wind knocked out of you.

I remember the first time I don't know what sport I was playing but got hit in the chest with something or someone. It was like a freight train knocked me over and my eyes were open. My body was moving but my lungs were like I'm going to take a break.

I'm just not going to work for a few minutes. Go ahead and freak out. You're gonna live. You're gonna think you're gonna die. Anybody have that? You just kind of get knocked down. But that's where Isaac has found himself. Isaac's in the middle of a famine and he's and he's clinging into God and he's leaning into God and he's like you.

He's trying to follow God in the middle of a famine and that's not always easy. Open space, fresh air, room to roam, a place to prosper, a place to be to breathe deep and to look farther. That's not synonymous with famine. But Isaac listened to God and he obeyed God.

And it said Isaac planted in that land and he reaped a harvest in that year a hundfold. Say hundfold. That's just nice to say it. It's nice to say it out loud. Hundredfold. It said Isaac planted crops in that land in the same year and reaped a hundfold.

Hundfold. In case you're having a trouble with the math, it is if you were to have one bunny at the beginning of the day and you had a hundred at the end of the day, that's a hundfold. So, whatever you have sown, whatever you have given yourself to, whatever you have invested in, whatever you sow as a farmer, you reap a hundfold.

Now, I know some farmers and in pristine conditions when the weather is perfect with enough sunlight, enough fertilizer in the ground and everything is perfect, there are many times a farmer won't reap a hundfold in the best of circumstances. But we're not in the best of circumstances. We're in a famine.

And it seems like a famine is the perfect time to hoard some things, to hold some things, not sew some things. But God doesn't work off of the world's economy. And God doesn't wait for the perfect season. And God doesn't ask your permission. Do you feel like sewing today?

When God says to sew, it's our opportunity to go and to grow through the obedience of God. And that's when the hundfold comes. Not sitting on our hands and not wondering when the storm is going to pass, but when it doesn't make sense at all. WHEN YOU SEW IN THAT SEASON, GOD gets the glory.

Can I get a big amen? Do you want to give glory to God today for the harvest that you've had in your life? Isaac planted crops in that land. Say that land. And he reaped a hundfold. In that year, say that year. That year. While you were waiting on your land, Isaac, God told you to sew in that land.

Remember, God told Isaac, "Stay here a while." I would want to know what is a while. Can you just give me like a heads up? Are we talking three weeks? Are we talking three months? But God doesn't often concern himself with giving us those details because he's got that.

And we should trust God if he's got it all. He's the alpha and he's the omega and he's everything in between. We should be able to trust God with those details and follow him knowing he's not leading us to death. He's leading us to life. He's leading you to life.

He's leading your family to life. He's leading your dream to life. God is not going to he's not going to uh um bait and switch you. He's not going to kind of get you to think one thing and then find yourself empty at the end. While you're waiting on your land, start sewing into this land.

While you're waiting on your land, start celebrating what other people are walking in. When somebody gets what you want, instead of envying them, celebrate them. Applaud them. Say, "That's the most amazing thing, and we serve the same God." while you're waiting on your land. So in this land, don't let the temporary re re um relocation rob you of eternal reward.

I knew a couple that were in the church and they for a minute they they were saying, "We we we want to be here and we love the church and we want to get involved, but we're going to be moving soon and and we'd rather not get involved."

It just seems to make sense to us that um since we're going to move, why would we invest and build relationship and get to know people then when we move we would be so heartbroken? And it just it seems right I guess but it also seems wrong in the meantime in the waiting time in the moments like that.

Make moves in the meantime. You need to make moves in the meantime. You need to dig in right now. Maybe you're going to start school in January. Maybe you're going to move away. Get involved right now. There's not a whole lot of time left in the year, but I would encourage you to get involved right now.

Find a small group. Find a place to serve. Find someone to be friends with. Get involved. Be seen. Be known. And know other people? Why waste a moment? Why start your life sometime out there? I remember when I, you know, people graduate and they want to take like um what is that called?

Like a like a season. I want us to take a break. a little sbatical. Let's all take a sabbatical right now. You know, I'm going to take a time off. And I feel like I feel like that's sort of the Bible says to number your days. This week, I'm going to be doing a graveside funeral for a woman who is a who died at 108.

She she uh I think it was she saw the the funeral procession of Roosevelt. She was at the uh the uh premiere of Gone with the Wind in Atlanta and saw who was it? Clark Gable and some other I'm sure she was a great actress on the back of a Rolls-Royce.

Uh in her hundreds in her early hundreds she um she contact she contracted COVID. Uh they thought she was going to die and uh and she rallied and she just refused to die. And finally at 108, she decided it's time to go home and to meet meet Jesus.

Her entire life was to serve God and was to know God and to love God. And I can't help but think, imagine the smile on her face as she is walking able-bodied on streets of gold, handin hand with God and her family members that had gone on before her.

We're part of a legacy. God doesn't live in us and through us just for us. He he's got this cathedral mindset. It speaks of that early in Genesis 26 when when he said to him, "Do not go down to Egypt, live in this land, and I'll uh and I'll bless you there for you and for your descendants."

Isn't it wonderful to think that God is blessing you for them that God is raising you up not just for you, but for them. Embrace the in between. It was the cave of Adullum where David ran to when Saul was chasing him. when Saul was going after him, trying to kill the next king, trying to hold on to his crown and kill the next king, securing Saul's legacy, hoping to resurrect his own name.

But David ran to the cave of Adoleum, and it was a place that he stayed temporarily. And Adullam means the place of the squeeze. Isaac was in a place of the squeeze. He was looking for room to move, room to breathe. He was looking for open space, but he was surrounded by famine and fear and contention and jealousy and death.

I don't know if you've looked at your calendar lately, the year is 2024, and it feels like we're surrounded by a a a world that is choking, that is dying, that is fearful, that is envious, that is looking to lash out at anyone. a gotcha culture, a kill it culture, a cancel culture looking for you to say the wrong thing at the wrong time to exploit your weakness instead of a culture of love.

Lifting people up, elevating people, believing God, trusting God, walking in the favor of God. This is a famine, folks. We are in the middle of a famine, but we will prosper. We will have a hundfold return. The church of Jesus Christ has not seen its best days. The worst is over and the best is yet to come.

Can I get an amen in God's house this morning? You got to make moves in the meantime. The devil wants you panicking, second-guessing, but God wants you planting. He wants you sewing. The devil wants you looking for a way out, but God wants you looking for a way in.

How do I double down? How do I dig in? Because this is a time to dig. It's a time to dig wells. And why would we dig wells? A one man doesn't dig a well for himself. You dig a well for yourself and for others. You dig a well for yourself and others and others and others.

For the weary traveler that walks by that needs a drink for others. For the generations that will come after you, you've already dug the well. They don't have to dig the well. You're allowing them to step in into life going further than you ever did and running faster than YOU EVER DID.

THAT'S the the DREAM OF MY LIFE. That's the prayer of my life that my children will not start where I started, but they'll start further and they'll go faster and they'll love God more and they'll see him move, make moves in the meantime. God doesn't have to bring you out of famine to bless you.

He can bless you right in the middle. He doesn't need the the the He doesn't need the birds singing. He He doesn't need blue skies. He doesn't need warm weather. Uh we're not all moving to Florida just to like bask in the sunlight. We're we're not we're not moving to Arizona just to stay warm.

God doesn't need the perfect conditions. He will bless you where you are. He'll bless you in that house. He'll bless you in that marriage. He'll bless you on that job. He'll bless you right where you are. He'll bless you with that reputation. He'll bless you in the jail and the prison.

He'll bless you in the White House and the outhouse. He will bless you. It makes no difference to God if you surrender your life to him. He will show up and he will show out. Come on, give God praise in this house. Lift up a voice. I grew up watching my dad preach and he looked angry all the time.

I know I look angry, but I'm happy. Make moves in the meantime. In case you didn't write it down, God doesn't have to bring you out to bless you. You just say that to a friend this week when they're in the middle of a crisis. I wish I had a different job.

I wish I had a different boss. I wish wish I had a different house. I wish I wish I God doesn't have to bring you out to bless you. Now, don't say it with arrogance and drive away in your nicer car and go to your nicer house. Say it humility.

Invite them to your house. Let them sit in your in your blessing. Bring them into your home and put them at your table. Serve them a meal that's amazing. And tell how you knew the recipe from your grandmother and talk about lineage. Don't be ashamed of how God's blessed you.

Speak about it. Celebrate it. and then turn to whoever you're serving and saying, "That's the same God you serve. He will do the same for you. He's no respector of person. He brought me out. He was going to bring you out. And when he brings you out, I'm going to be right there to celebrate with you."

That's the kind of relationship that we need to have. I got to keep moving. He planted crops in that land. Say that land. He reaped a hundfold that year. Say that year. Can you see what God is doing? God is just showing up and blowing up. He's just doing all the stuff that people say it can't be done.

It can't be done. What an idiot. Sewing in this season. What a fool. Taking all that seed and putting it in the ground. You're just bearing it and we're going to have a funeral. No. God's going to have a harvest. God's going to have a harvest. God's going to have a harvest.

And when God has a harvest, you reap the benefit. He planted crops in that land. He reaped an hundfold that year. I believe in limits. On the way here, I saw some of our finest. Some of I don't know if it was Oakwood or it was um uh highway patrol.

I don't know who they were. Some of our finest. And I was in my limits and they didn't stop to talk. I'm so thankful. I believe in limits, but I don't limit God. I believe in boundaries, but I don't put God in a box. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can think or imagine.

He can even do more. He can do better than that. I have a friend, no matter what you say, he he he'll always follow up with, "What was worse than that?" Or he'll follow up with, "Well, it was better than that." Like just just a sweet, kind little one up.

Not like real rude, but just kind of rude. But if you're talking about God, you can go there. He's better than that. He won't just do that again. He'll do that again and blow it up and he'll do that again and multiply it by a hundred and he'll do that again.

Don't limit God. Don't put your God in a box. And don't be sad because your team lost yesterday. The King of Kings. Oh my goodness. Have an altar call right now. I feel it. Jesus. It says in Psalm or it says in Isaiah chapter 43. Can you throw that up real quick?

Isaiah 43 verse 18. I love this. Let's read this together to say it out loud. Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. Pause. Just pause right there. We We just said it, but we didn't do it. We got to say it and do it. Let's start again.

Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past. See, comma, just stop right there. I love that comma because it's like he's loading. It's like when a deer is about to jump. He loads up and then he springs forth. The comma is the loading. The comma are the three little dots when someone else is typing and you're texting and you're waiting in anticipation what's about to be said.

The comma is where we get a big deep breath and we see that. Let's read it together. I am doing a new thing. Let's thank God for the new thing in your life, in your family, on your job, in your church, in this country, in his creation. See, I love God says, "See, like, see, I am doing a new thing.

Now it springs up. Do you Come on, let's read together. Now it springs up. Do not do you not perceive it. I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." He is not scared or nervous of your wilderness. He is not afraid of your wasteland.

He's busy making streams and rivers. Woo! streams and rivers. You see a wasteland, he sees streams and rivers. You see a tight space, he sees an open space. Streams and rivers. It's time to dig. It's time to dig. He brought water out of a rock and he put a cloud of day, a cloud by day, and a fire by night.

He Who's he? He's God. He made the Red Sea into a footpath. Who? He who's he? He's God. He brought you out of sickness. He brought you out of addiction. He brought you out of poverty. He's bringing you out of all kinds of messes. Who is he? He is.

And he is far from finished. And he is not getting weaker by the day. He He He doesn't know how to even get stronger. He's got all the strength right now he will ever need. He's not a God that has to breathe deep and wind up and load his legs.

He speaks from his seat and the world says, "Yes, sir." That's the God that we serve. Listen to this in Genesis 26:13 through uh 16. Can you throw that up real quick? The man, you don't have to read. I'll read. You can just sit there. Uh the man became rich and and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy.

Why don't you do this in your Bible where it says the man became rich? Go ahead and write your name right there. I just want you to see who'll do it. But you're like, I have a digital electronic Bible. Shame on you. Get a paper one. Write your name in there.

Someone from Gwynette texted me on a on on a note card, his note, and he put his name in there. And right next to the man also, I think he liked calling himself the man. The man. The man. Dave. Calling you out Dave. The man. Dave. was say your name or the person whatever the man your name okay some of you are into it the man became rich and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy he became rich through the harvest and then his stuff just continued to grow continued to prosper it I can just imagine him at his desk and all of his phones are ringing it's the opposite of Job where he began over a season to lose everything this is a season where you began to gain everything.

You're growing. You're growing. You're growing. And became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and so many herds and so many servants that the Philistines envied him. And so all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the enemy begins to stop them up with stones and rocks and timber and filling them up with earth.

Then the king of the Philistines, Aimilec, said to Isaac, "Move away from us. You have become too powerful. This is a complicated compliment. That's a strange way of saying you're kind of a big deal. You are the man. King Aimilec was trying to politely get the strong man out of his country because he saw that it won't be long before you overtake us.

Isaac was so blessed in that land in that year that the locals stopped up the will. The king became envious and they asked them to move away. Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing to happen in your life? Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing to happen in your family of all the compliments of all the ways?

What do you say to that? Thank you. So the smaller and the weaker ask the bigger and the stronger leave. Pretty please leave. But here's a lesson. Every fight isn't your fight. Do you hear me this morning? Every fight isn't your fight. Sometimes it's best to walk away.

It takes a powerful peacemaker to walk away from a fight knowing that you can win. It's like David when when when David's dad sent him out to the battlefield to bring food. Someone said pizza because it was bread and cheese. When when when David's dad sent the teenager out to the battlefield where they were facing off against Goliath, the father said, "Bring this food to to the boys and he brought the boys out and one of David's brothers comes to him and he says, "What are you coming to watch us die?

Why don't you go back and take care of your few sheep?" What was the older brother doing? What older brothers do? Baiting the little brother, trying to to get him to extend his energy, drop the cheese and the bread and take on the bigger brother. But David just walked on.

Why? Because he knew. He knew that wasn't his fight. He knew he didn't come to the battlefield to fight his brother. Then he walked in and he saw King Saul. And King Saul was a king and he should have been facing Goliath. King Saul stood head and shoulders above every other man.

He was clearly the king physical in stature and in his voice. And when he walked in the room, he filled up the room. King Saul should have been facing the giant. But King Saul was a coward and he was biting his nails in his trailer. And when David walked in and confronted the king, the king said, "Look, you can go out and fight this guy, but you need to wear my armor."

I personally believe that Saul wanted everyone on the sideline to think that Saul was out there fighting because they saw the armor of the king. Saul wanted to save his own image. He wanted to save his own reputation. But David knew not to fight that guy. That's not the fight.

He was saving his fight for the fight. Who was the fight for? The real enemy, Goliath. He knew that he was there to deliver a country, not beat up his brother or make a king look bad. There are some fights that you and I can win, but we should not engage because that's not what we're here for.

((applause)) So, the smaller and the weaker ask the bigger and the stronger to leave. It was envy. I love this proverb of 14:30. It says, "A heart of peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." Don't rot yourself to death. You need to have strong bones for the fight God's called you to fight.

You need to have strong able body for the journey God's called you to to accomplish what he's called you to accomplish to carry the generations the future generations on your shoulder and to show them what it means to live a life of sacrifice a life of mercy a life of meekness it reminds me in Matthew 5:5 blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth Isaac also David they were walking in meekness what is meekness meekness It sounds like weakness, but it's not.

Meekness is actually strength under control. A good illustration of meekness is a bridal in a thoroughbred's mouth. That horse weighs a few thousand pounds. They can they can do mighty things. They can they can cause havoc or they can work and they can provide a service. And when a giant horse has a bridal in its mouth, that is a picture of meekness.

That is strength under control. Sometimes as men we feel like lashing out and raising our voice and veins bulging in our neck and looks of hatred on our face expresses our strength to others. That actually shows foolishness at times. In this moment, Isaac could have done that. He could have put Aimilec in his place and ran him over like a freight train.

But instead, Isaac held his peace. He waved a white flag in obedience to God. He said, "I'm not looking for strife. I'm looking for what? open spaces. If what you're looking for is not in front of you, do not stop. Some of the wells you're digging today will help future generations and their families.

Some of the work that you are doing might not even benefit you. You remember when David had a heart and had the heart to build God a house and then towards the end of his life, God came to him and said, "David, you won't build it. Your son Solomon will build it."

Was it a waste that David collected all that wealth? No. David turned to Solomon with no hesitation and he gave it all to his son and he charged his son. He didn't take a chance with Solomon. The Bible clearly says he charged his son. He didn't take a chance with Solomon.

He charged him. Build God a house. Build God a house. Isaac dug two wells. The locals came along. They said that fresh water belongs to us. Isaac did something remarkable. He didn't label the people. He labeled the place. The first well he called ess which means to argue strife.

The second well he dug and they were run off from, he called it sitna. That means hostility. Isaac was so wise to walk away from the argument and walk away from the hostility until he got to this place that we already read. And it says this, "Abandoning that one."

If what you're looking for is not in front of you, abandon it. Abandon that fight. Abandon that strife. Abandon that hatred. Abandon that way of thinking. Abandoning that one. And said he moved on and dug another well. And this time there was no dispute. So he named the place Rehea Boeth which means open space, room to grow, room to prosper.

I wonder today what do you need to abandon? I wonder today what fight you have been fighting and you feel the Holy Spirit's voice in your heart. Not with hatred, not with disdain. But when God speaks, even when he rebukes, he doesn't convict you of how wrong you are.

He convicts you of how right you are. You're better than this. You were created for more than this. Abandoning that one, Isaac moved on and he dug another well. The Lord created enough space for him to prosper. I want you to stand all over this room today. ((music playing)) There are some of you with everyone please no moving around all of our campuses.

There are some of you that you've been fighting the wrong fight. You've been screaming at the wrong people. You've been blaming. Maybe some of you have been blaming the right people, but God wants you to abandon that fight. You'll never win it. Only God can. The hurt, the trauma, the tragedy.

I love the scripture in um Philippians. Paul's in prison and he says these profound words. He says, "Butever, but whatever was my profit, I now consider for loss for the sake of Christ." And that's noble, you know, that's like winning the Super Bowl and, you know, saying you're going to go to Disneyland or whatever.

It's it no, it's cute. But let's let's be honest, we're all a little jealous. All of my accomplish all of these trophies that you see here. It sounds like a good speech. I consider it loss. Now he goes to another gear. That was sincere to him. But he goes to another gear.

He says, "What's more?" Everyone say, say out loud, say, "There's more." What's more, I also consider everything lost to comparing to the surpassing greatness of just knowing God. What does that mean? He even said, "My losses are loss." Why is that important? Because the victories don't hold us back quite like our losses do.

It's not the great accomplishments that hold us back. It's the deep pain and hurt and betrayal and tragedy. That's why we sent for countless hours in front of people that have compassion and a gift to listen and to lead us in a way out of bondage and into freedom. this morning.

God doesn't want you bound. He wants you free. He wants you to be able to abandon. What does abandon mean? Abandon means to walk away, never giving it another thought. What relationship do you need to abandon today? What memory do you need to walk away from? What what promise that seems to be a broken promise from God?

Do you need to give up today? If it's not in front of you, don't stay there. Keep walking today. If you are in that place in your life without any hesitation, I want you to come down to the front because it's time to dig another well. It's time to step out of fear and condemnation.

It's time to step in to the peace and the love and the power of God. It's time to abandon some things. It's time to abandon the argument. It's time to abandon the fear. While they're coming, I'll tell you this. Isaac didn't label people. He labeled the place. The devil wants us hating people.

The devil wants us walking in division and hostility and anger towards people. But we weren't designed to hold those things. Those are the things that rot the bones. But it's peace that builds the house. I'm telling you what, this week, let's be peacemakers. This week, we need to be diggers.

We need to be digging wells. Not just for us, but for others. Before you leave, I want to pray. If you're in this room and you believe that you need to give your heart to Jesus Christ, you need to make him the Lord of your life. You need to quit walking your own way trying to figure this thing out on your own.

But you know without a shadow of a doubt, your life belongs to him. And you need to make a commitment to Jesus. If that's you all over this room and at every campus, raise your hand high and unashamed and say, "That's me. I'm committing my way to Jesus today.

I am a believer today. My my future is not death. My future is life today. Heaven is my home. Today Jesus is my king. Today I give up my I give up my I I give up everything to Jesus and I ask him to lead me down this path.

Let's pray this prayer. Say it out loud. Say, "Jesus, I give my life to you. I surrender my all. I ask you be the Lord of my life. I confess my sin and all I've done wrong. And I ask you to be my champion. I ask you to be my savior.

God, give me open spaces. Give me room to breathe. Give me prosperity for me and for my family and for my children's children. I will live for you all the days of my life in Jesus mighty name. And everybody shouted a big victorious amen. Hallelujah. Jesus is king.

He is coming. Come on, put your hands together for Jesus and his work and the wells that you will dig. ((music playing)) Before you go, before you go, if you if you need healing in your body, I want you to raise your hand. I need healing in my body. healing in my body.

If there's a hand near you, just politely put your hand on their shoulder. You don't have to. Yeah. What what we're doing with that is is we're saying, "You're not alone." What we're saying is, "I see you. I hear you." And what we're what we're also saying is God's about to heal you.

That's what we're saying. Father, I pray for the healing power of God to touch every life in this room, across our campuses, and anyone watching today. There is no limit to your power. There is no limit to your love. There is no limit to what you can accomplish.

God, you don't need to wait for favorable circumstances to confound the wise and to confine doctors and to go against the reports. God, today we stand on the word of God, the Biblle, and we believe your report and your report says it says healing is the children's bread.

By your stripes, we were made whole. So I pray in the name of Jesus Christ for healing to flow in your church and your people, in your sons and daughters, and we receive it. And if you receive that today, say a big amen. And can you thank Jesus?

Thank you, Jesus. On behalf on behalf of pastor, I want to thank you for being generous with Haiti. I want to thank you for being generous with your giving, your tithes, and your offering. We're a part of something so special. The year's not over yet. Revival is looming.

It's coming next week, but it might just come today. Keep your eyes peeled because God is on the move. We love you. Have a great day. Have a great week. Walk in God's power and we'll see you next Sunday as pastors back to bring the word of God.

We love you so much. God bless you. ((music playing)) Well, I love that message by Pastor Brian. Thank you, Pastor Brian. And thank all of you for joining in today. I love that oneliner. If you work the word, the word will work. Work the word into your life. It's freeing.

And uh what do you need to abandon today? What a powerful message. Absolutely. Loved it. Loved it so much. And if you prayed with Pastor Brian as he led us in the prayer of salvation, congratulations. Welcome to the family of God. Best decision that you could ever make, we want you to go ahead and text the word yes to the number 510510 so that we can help you uh with your next step with what you need to do next to get connected and just grow in the faith as well.

And also, if you need prayer for anything, we're here to stand with you. We have a whole team, dedicated team that's ready to stand with you in prayer for anything and everything that you need. And so go ahead and text the word prayer to the number 510510. Yes, we are celebrating with those of you that said yes to Jesus.

There's a party in heaven. You can't hear it, but the angels are celebrating and so are we. And again, like Christie said, let us be in your corner and help you with prayer. Uh we also want to thank you for your generosity. You know, this week this whole area, you can't see it, but this whole area was transformed into packing meals for Haiti.

They shared it a few moments ago. I know my sons and myself enjoyed it. We had our hairetss on and we enjoyed packing the meals. Um over 900 volunteers, 272,000 meals packed. It's because of your generosity. Yes, volunteering, but yes, we had to have the materials and so thank you for being generous.

There's so many different projects going on through Free Chapel and it wouldn't be possible without you. If you'd love to give, there's some ways on the screen that you can get involved with. Absolutely. Absolutely. And before we go, we want to just remind you of a few things.

You know, we have connect groups available. We have devotions available on the app. So stay plugged in. We have a YouTube channel with amazing content as well. So you want to just ensure that you remain plugged in, remain connected to all the amazing resources that we have available for you here at Free Chapel.

So from all of us here, it's God bless you and have a great week. See you next Sunday. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Yeah, man. Hey, hey, hey.